This application is related to the following commonly-owned co-pending patent applications: xe2x80x9cGaming Device Having a Weighted Probability For Selecting A Bonus Game,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/680,346, U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,436; xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING A METHOD FOR RANDOMLY GENERATING A BONUS ROUND OUTCOME.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/679.251. xe2x80x9cGaming Device With Bonus Scheme Having Multiple Award Levels,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/602,140, xe2x80x9cGaming Device Having A Competition Bonus Scheme,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/628,144, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,369 B1; xe2x80x9cGaming Device Having A Bonus Round With A Win, Lose Or Draw Outcome,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/722,763, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,824 B1; xe2x80x9cGaming Device Having An Indicator Selection With Probability-Based Outcome Bonus Scheme,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/981,163, xe2x80x9cGaming Device Having a Multi-Characteristic Matching Game,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/813,698, xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING A BONUS ROUND WITH A WIN. LOSE OR DRAW OUTCOME.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/163,805, xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING A COMPETITION BONUS SCHEME.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/114,837, xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING A MULTI-ROUND MULTI-CHARACTERISTIC MATCHING GAME.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/243,706. xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING A MULTI-ROUND MULTI-CHARACTERISTIC MATCHING GAME.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/243,192, xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING A GAME WITH DECREASING PROBABILITIES OF SUCCESS.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/238,237, xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING AN AWARD LEVEL DETERMINATION COMPETITION,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/241,325, xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING A METHOD FOR RANDOMLY GENERATING A BONUS ROUND OUTCOME.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/437,656, and xe2x80x9cGAMING DEVICE HAVING SEPARATELY CHANGEABLE VALUE AND MODIFIER BONUS SCHEME.xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 10/414,638,
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device having a primary game wherein players may select indicators which are either success or failure indicators based on a mathematical calculation using an independent probability for each indicator.
Gaming machines currently exist with bonus schemes in which the player has one or more opportunities to choose a particular selection or indicator from a group of indicators. An indicator may be any symbol or image such as a number, letter or graphical representation of a person, place or thing. When a player chooses an indicator, the game will either award the player with a bonus value or terminate the bonus round. The outcome depends upon the particular indicator selected by the player.
When the player selects an indicator which awards a bonus value, the player receives one or more bonus values, and the player has another chance to select another indicator. Each time the player selects such a success indicator, the game typically provides an award to the player and displays a message for the player such as xe2x80x9cNEXT.xe2x80x9d This message means that the bonus round continues and the player may choose another indicator. The player then selects another indicator, and this process continues until the player selects an indicator which terminates the bonus round. When the player selects such a failure indicator, typically the game displays a message for the player such as xe2x80x9cCOLLECT.xe2x80x9d This message means that the bonus round has terminated, and the player collects any bonus values the player accumulated.
Gaming machines with this type of bonus scheme are programmed so that in each bonus round certain indicators or a certain number or percentage of indicators are success indicators and certain indicators or a certain number or percentage of indicators are failure indicators. Consequently, the percentage of success indicators is predetermined and fixed. Therefore, when playing a bonus round, it is impossible for the player to select success indicators beyond the fixed percentage. Chance is involved in the timing as to when the player chooses a failure indicatorxe2x80x94before or after achieving the fixed percentage of success indicators. European Patent Application No. EP 0 945 837 A2 filed on Mar. 18, 1999 and assigned on its face to WMS Gaming, Inc. discloses a bonus scheme generally of this type.
The present invention provides a gaming device which has a primary game which includes a plurality of selectable indicators wherein each of the selectable indicators has a certain independent probability of being a success indicator or a failure indicator. Similar to flipping a coin where the predetermined independent probability of being heads or tails is fifty percent, in the present invention there is a predetermined probability of each indicator being a success indicator or a failure indicator. Upon or prior to the selection of the indicator, the processor in the gaming device determines, based on that probability, if the indicator is a success indicator or a failure indicator. In one embodiment, all of the selectable indicators have the same probability. Alternatively, the selectable indicators may have different probabilities. Game manufacturers, casinos and others who commercialize the gaming device of the present invention may program the primary game with desired probabilities for success indicators and failure indicators, depending on the payout desired and the level of excitement desired. Accordingly, in any play of the primary game, all of the indicators may be success indicators.
When a player makes a wager, the primary game begins. The primary game begins by providing the player with a plurality of selectable indicators. In one embodiment, the game determines, based on the predetermined independent probability for each indicator whether each indicator is a success or a failure indicator. The player chooses an indicator. The processor of the gaming device, displays a success indicator or a failure indicator. In one embodiment of the present invention, if the processor displays a failure indicator, the primary game terminates. If the processor displays a success indicator, the game awards the player with a displayed award or value corresponding to the success indicator. The value numerals may themselves be the success indicator. The amount of the value for each success indicator may vary. After the player achieves a success indicator, the player receives the appropriate value, and the game gives the player another chance to choose another indicator.
In this embodiment, this process continues until the gaming device displays a failure indicator or until the player has chosen all of the indicators in the primary game, in which case, the primary game terminates. If the player chooses all of the indicators and they are all success indicators, the game may award the player with an achievement value, the primary game may automatically repeat the game or may provide a bonus game. Upon termination of the primary game, the game accumulates all of the credits which the player has won and awards them to the player.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the primary game is placed in the context of a dodgeball game. The indicators are represented by a plurality of target characters. A separate character throws balls at the target characters or indicators. The player decides which target character will try to catch the ball. Each target character can catch the ball or be hit by the ball. If the player chooses a target character who catches the ball (i.e., a failure indicator), the primary game ends. If the player chooses a target character who is hit by the ball (i.e., a success indicator), the game awards the player with a value. The primary game terminates when a target character catches a ball or after the ball hits all of the target characters in the primary game.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gaming device having a primary game with indicators having a predetermined probability-based outcome.
Another object of the present invention to provide a gaming device having a primary game wherein the percentage of success indicators is not predetermined or fixed.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.